I'm an author, journalist and Director of Research for the Flow Genome Project, an organization dedicated to decoding the science of ultimate human performance. My books include "The Rise of Superman," “Abundance,” “A Small Furry Prayer,” “West of Jesus," and "The Angle Quickest For Flight." My articles have appeared in over 60 publications, including The New York Times Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Wired, Forbes, GQ, National Geographic, Popular Science, and Discover. At the heart of my work, and this blog, is a deep interest in the intersection of science, technology and culture, with specific focus on the extreme edges of the discussion—both larger philosophical implications and completely personal applications.

Totally Addictive Education: The Future of Learning

If we can solve this macroscopic-to-microscopic puzzle and invert the current paradigm (especially for those kids who can’t learn any other way), learning becomes all about pattern recognition and dopamine release and thus becomes totally addictive. But that’s not all…

A shorthand rule of thumb for understanding how memory works is the larger the neurochemical response an event produces, the better chance we have of remembering it later. Dopamine is a big response. Ever fall in love? That high was also dopamine. Now how well do you remember those events?

Imagine how different the world would be if we could not only use smart phone and tablet computers and the like to deliver every kid the education they deserve and if that education was built around this kind of pattern recognition. Learning would both be truly addictive and significantly more efficient.

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